Landscape photography is something I feel more
comfortable doing. The mountains don’t move. Okay, maybe they do, but at least
it’s really slow. They don’t talk back either. They are calm and huge and fun
to take photos of! However, there are several things you need to consider when
taking landscape shots. As always, you need to think about the composition of
your photo. Like we learned in week 5, you need to eliminate distractions,
apply the rule of thirds, keep an eye on the horizon and try a new perspective
from time to time. So, how can we do that when shooting landscapes?
The rule of thirds is easy; just make sure you are
lining up a tree or a mountain or the sky in one of those quadrants, like we
practiced. You can also use a natural line to create the rule as well as
drawing the eye into what you want the viewer to focus on.
Trying a new perspective can be fun. Look at things from
above or below in order to take a photo that everyone else has not already
taken. Can you get a birds-eye view of something, instead of taking the shot
from ground level?
For those of you with a point and shoot, use the
landscape mode, which is the little mountain icon, to shoot your photo. This
will cause the camera to have an increase f/stop (remember that from week one?)
which will cause the whole photo to be in focus. If you have a lower f/stop, only
certain parts (foreground / background) will be in focus and with a landscape
photo, you want the entire thing to be crystal clear. Remember, Ansel Adams
shot photos at an f/64! If you are not using a point and shoot, remember, the
higher the f/stop, the less light is being let in, so you may need to slow down
your shutter speed or bump up your ISO if there is insufficient natural light.
Here’s the question we want to consider this week:
What does your view of the world look like?
The assignment was to share your view of the wide,
wide world. We were reminded to select an f/stop around f/22, compose our photo
with the entire scene in mind, and apply any of the following 10 tips:
1. Use a wide angle lens (if you have one)
2. Find a bird's eye view
3. Locate a focal point
4. Consider composition
5. Pay attention to the time of day
6. Play with shadows, silhouettes, and reflections
7. Use lines to lead the eye
8. Consider a city scene
9. Take a panoramic photo
10.
Capture a nighttime scene
As you can
see, in the first photo, I achieved a bird’s eye view of this landscape by
climbing up to the top of another mountain. Maybe hiking is not your cup of
tea; that’s okay. You can take the elevator to the top of the Empire State
building and get the same result.
In this
photo, you can see that the focal point is that mountain top, which I was
trying to get to!
In this
photo, I used the line of the river to draw your eye. I also tried to apply the
rule of thirds, but I may have wanted to raise my camera just a bit in order to
have a little more sky in the photo.
In this,
the lines of the beach and the lines of the sun are good, although I should
have maybe stood a little closer to the water to make more of an angle, rather
than the flat line of the ocean.
This photo
used the city as the landscape instead of using natural elements.
This photo
shows you what a difference the time of day makes. In the earlier morning, the
sun is not up enough, so the light is kind of grey, instead of being warmer.
The colors of the trees and water are more pronounced when the sunlight is on
them. The contrast of the blue sky instead of the washed out grey one makes for
a more interesting photo.
What I
learned: Take your time. Like I said before, the mountains are not moving very
fast. You can afford to think about your shot and compose it right. Try
standing in a few different places to get a better angle. Consider the time of
day. As you saw in the last photo set, it makes a big difference. Go to the
same place several times; you may be surprised at the differences each time.
Don’t
forget to link up with Kate and to join us next week when we will be looking at
Our Daily Environments. We only have two weeks left, but you can still join in
the fun at any time!
Do you like taking landscape photos? Do you
prefer city-scapes or natural landscapes?
